Mazie Follette

Mazie Follette was an American dancer, actress, vaudeville performer, and Florodora girl. She also wrote poetry, and was a witness in the murder trial of Harry Kendall Thaw.

Mazie Follette
Mazie Follette, from a 1901 publication.
Mazie Follette, from a 1901 publication.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMazie Folette
Mazie Follett
Occupation(s)Showgirl, dancer, actress, poet
Known forFlorodora girl, Testified at the Harry K. Thaw trial (1907)

Career

Mazie Follette studied dance with Filiberto Marcheti.[1][2]

Follette danced, acted, and sang in soubrette roles. She left the company of Lulu Glaser in 1901, after she was accused of flirting with the audience.[1][3] She was a "Florodora Girl", in the Florodora show at the Winter Garden in 1902.[4] Broadway appearances by Follette included roles in Fiddle-dee-dee (1900–1901),[5] The Prima Donna (1901), The Strollers (1901),[6] The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast (1901–1902), The Supper Club (1901–1902),[5] Twirly Whirly (1902),[5] The Wild Rose (1902),[7][8] The Big Little Princess (1903), Winsome Winnie (1903–1904),[9] Princess Beggar (1906),[10] and From Across the Pond (1907).[11]

Mazie Follette, Harry Fairleigh, and Nellie Adams in "The Prince of Pilsen", from a 1903 publication.
Mazie Follette, Harry Fairleigh, and Nellie Adams in The Prince of Pilsen, from a 1903 publication.

The Thaw trial and aftermath

Follette was known for an extravagant social life; she once took a train from Chicago to New York with two young businessmen, to have a lobster dinner.[12] She also tried to adopt a baby hippopotamus as a pet.[13] "Flippant to strangers, the heroine of many humorous Broadway stories, unfortunately and unjustly mentioned in connection with several unpleasant escapades," Follette was part of Stanford White's social circle,[14] and a confidante of Evelyn Nesbit before Nesbit married.[15][16] She was sought[17] to assist the prosecution at the highly-publicized trial[18] of Nesbit's husband, Harry Kendall Thaw, in 1907.[19] "It is believed she knows more of Stanford White and the inner life and workings of Evelyn Thaw than any living person," reported one account.[16] [20][21]

After the trial, for a time, she worked on a plan to organize and train chorus girls.[22] Follette also wrote poetry for publications, under a pen name.[14] She was in vaudeville in 1908.[23] Other works in her later career included The Gay Musician (1909), and Shorty McCabe (1911).[24]

A showgirl character in the 1915 silent film Betty in Search of a Thrill is named "Maizie Follette".[25]

References
  1. "Danced in the Courtroom". The New York Times. February 7, 1902. p. 16 – via ProQuest.
  2. Sarah Helen Williams (May 2012), "Noisy Feet: The Forgotten Click of American Toe-Tap, 1925 — 1935" (master's thesis, University of New Mexico): 13-14.
  3. "Actresses in a Lawsuit". The Topeka State Journal. June 6, 1901. p. 7. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Florodora". The Cast. 6: 35. February 10, 1902.
  5. Sherwood Garrison P (1944). The Best Plays Of 1899-1909.
  6. "Mazie Follette, Who Appears in 'The Strollers'". Broadway Magazine: 443. September 1901 – via Internet Archive.
  7. Nathan, George Jean (1921). The Theatre, the Drama, the Girls. A.A. Knopf. pp. 278. Mazie Follette.
  8. "The Troubles and Romances of a Wild Rose". Great Bend Tribune. January 5, 1909. p. 3. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Winsome Winnie". gsarchive.net. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  10. Robyn, Alfred George (1906). Princess Beggar: A Musical Comedy. M. Witmark & Sons. p. 3.
  11. "Week's Playbills Show Many Novelties". The New York Times. September 1, 1907. p. X3 – via ProQuest.
  12. "Actress Rides 1,000 Miles for a Supper". The Indianapolis Star. March 5, 1905. p. 42. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Untitled news item". The Topeka State Journal. August 1, 1903. p. 7. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Mazie Follette -- Poetess". The Green Book Album. 6: 972–974. November 1911.
  15. Mooney, Michael Macdonald (1976). Evelyn Nesbit and Stanford White: Love and Death in the Gilded Age. Morrow. p. 201. ISBN 9780688030797.
  16. "Actress to Go on Stand to Tear Down Wife's Story". Buffalo Courier. February 23, 1907. p. 2. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Officers Looking for Miss Mazie Follette". The Scranton Truth. January 15, 1907. p. 8. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Beauties will Star in the Thaw Trial". The Seattle Star. July 21, 1906. p. 1. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Fear Mistrial in Thaw Case". The New York times. February 14, 1907. p. 2 – via ProQuest.
  20. "Mazie Follette and the Thaw Case". Santa Cruz Sentinel. March 14, 1907. p. 9. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  21. "Where is Mazie Follette?". New York Star: 54. February 27, 1909.
  22. Slocum, Palmer C. (September 29, 1909). "Amusements". The Dayton Herald. p. 18. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. "At this Freak 'Literary Dinner', Guests Wore Costumes Suggesting Various 'Best Sellers'". The Evening World. December 24, 1908. p. 5. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. "At the Grand". Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. December 18, 1911. p. 24. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. "Elsie Janis". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. July 19, 1915. p. 8. Retrieved May 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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